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It was dark and the landscape seemed unfriendly, out in the wilders with rocky outcrops and smatterings of vegetation that showed the land had been scorched in places.

The year?

Can't really tell you. We stopped with the numbering thing for the different days after the great wars, all I know is that we are beyond the 30th Century here on Sol3.

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"Eziah! You set fire to that goat again and I will beat your outside holdings!" a voce roared and she looked up in time to see a child running for dear life as an elder chased ineffectively with a stick.

"He be learning" a child told her, "He set fire to Femka yesterday, lucky Grev was there to blow it away."

"Elementals" she sighed, "Why be elementals in the telekinetic camp? You know when you put the firestarters with the thinker-movers there be troubles. They always gang up together to fight the empaths."

It was dark, late and they were safe to show their talents without fear out here in the wilder bits. In the wilders they could be themselves, who the gods had made. No hiding behind 'human' faces. Out here their mutations were freely nurtured and she knew her children were becoming.

She sighed and shook her head as the little beasts rampaged, one calling a stick out of thin air to throw at another who turned it into a dove that flew away. One little child had slid along the log, reaching for her and she was distracted by another who had called water from the air, watching as the teardrop dissipated like a fine mist. Strong that one, gotta watch that.

"Tell me the story, please Mother" the small child was pulling at her torn skirt as she sat cross legged on the large boulder and she looked down affectionately at one of her own.

"It be old and worn out now like the shoes on your feet!" she scolded and the child whimpered as he jiggled with desire, his tiny face full of hope and she sighed as she looked up over the encampment.

It was crude by some standards but it was clean. They made sure of that. Each child had a berth, each child had a plate, spoon and blanket. Each child had a name too but for now the name of the one pulling impatiently at her, worrying her like a tic, eluded her so she snarled instead, leaning forward in the firelight so her teeth flashed and the little one squealed with fear and delight, equal in measure as she was clearly playing which was rare.

As was her visiting them.

"Please Mother?" he tried again, this time gently patting her knee showing temperance.

"I not be speaking the words twice!" she barked, "I have others to see, my eyes have business elsewhere too. I not be speaking it twice when ears are too busy for my tongue!"

The children started calling out to each other, trying to find some form of order and she played with the bangles on her wrists, jangling them in the firelight as the children argued and finally settled. Then she looked out at the faces and canted her head.

"Right then" she chuffed, pouting dramatically, "What be the words you are wanting again?"

"The story" a little voice said hesitantly, "The story of them mans, the story of the beginning."

"The story of the end!" another voice roared indignantly, "The story of the children of the other old world. Please Mother, we needs the words of the journey takers!"

"Ah" she leaned back and tapped a finger to her lips as if considering and looked down again at the faces.

"The story of the Riftling Kings?" she asked and they all gasped in unison, "You know…the Riftlings be children like you once. They be born of love and that special bed wrestling of the grups. They be born of the rift and the other bits!"

"Please Mother" several voices begged with anticipation.

She grinned as she watched one shine his goggles before placing them back on the squint at her, trying to see her more clearly as her light competed for the flames.

"Well, it be a long story with much words" she sighed, "Might be too dark for some of the scarier words. They be daytime words with no shadow monsters listening to get ideas!"

"Awwwwwww" they all wailed.

In the distance a beast howled, a mournful cry that seed to echo in the canyon around them, making some cuddle together a little more, more toward the flames a little more. Her eyes gleamed in the firelight as if she were the creature that had howled. Dangerous.

Theirs.

"Riftlings be the beginnings." She said calmly, "They be the spark that becomes the flames, brighter and hotter than these ones be. This be a story of light. My light's first flicker."

"But it be of the dark times too!" one yelled, "It be a story of the darkness that eats the flames like a monster hungry for the warmth that can melt a heart of ice, right?"

She threw her head back and her dirty blonde hair fell back as well, the messy almost-dreads moving as she laughed, "Yes it be both of fire and ice."

"But where does a story begin?" she asked softly, all now leaning forward to listen, as did some of the adults in the shadows that were too old to approach her so boldly as they knew what she was even if the children saw only a woman, "Tell me. Does it begin with the beginning words or does it start with the ending ones."

"But we need those in between!" a little boy said with his hands clasped as if in prayer, "We need the in-between. The magic is in the in-between."

"Magic is in the in-between" the children all chanted as they nodded their agreement and the ancient story was recognised and revered once more, the gods shifting in their great throne room to listen as she waved her hand.

"Then all bums be planted!" she demanded, "All ears be open and the speaking holes silent. For I be telling the beginning story at the end! With all those bits between added for the innards."

The children shivered as an adult or two slid to the ground, sitting cross legged with their eyes watching the children with glee. Several more followed as they did what they had done for many generations.

They sat at the feet of the old mother and they waited for those words.

The words spoken at the beginning that told of the end.

And all the bits in between.

The Riftlings waited for their story.

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RIFT GIFTS

Elemental

Firestarters, Rainmakers and such, can use one of the four elements to their benefit.

Telekinetic

Movers, can shift things with their minds. Teleks.

Empath

Can feel another's emotion and anticipate their reactions

Telepath

Can hear another's thoughts. Usually this power is connected to Empath or a Kenetic as well.

Healer

Self explanatory.

Shifter

Can take on an animal form. Called a Changeling by some.

Technoist

Techies can manipulate technology and machines.

Gleaner

Rare breed that can, for a short time, copy the power of the Riftling that it has had contact with. Also usually Empath and/or Telepath.

Hider

Can become invisible or 'unnoticeable'. Can be connected to Kenetic.

Botanist

Can control mother nature, can grow anything. Can be connected to Elemental.

Seeker

Recognises other Riftlings like a blood hound.

Hunger

One who sucks the life from another, consumes their life force or soul.

Mute

One who can dull the powers of another for short periods like a dimmer switch. Can be connected to Gleaner.

Jumper

Can manipulate time for small periods. Either jump back or forth in a time of crisis.

Hunters

Agents that hunt down the Riftlings for elimination or experimentation. Usually pairs, one human and one a Riftling that had turn to the other side either willingly or as a controlled slave with the human as their handler.

Normals

Human. Not mutated or Rift altered.