Diven sat listlessly in the living room of his uncle’s villa. The place was luxurious and his chair comfortable. Soft enough he could slump on it but arranged in a way where he would seem to be sitting upright. His uncle was sitting in front of him, a worried look reflecting in his eyes, “Get yourself together, Diven. We are short on time.”
Diven roused himself, pushing the lethargy away, “Uncle.”
“I’m sure you realize it, but there is an issue with your bloodline.”
Diven bit his lower lip, not sure what to say.
“It’s not your fault, but I need you to understand this is serious.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? Really? The situation is a lot more severe than it was for your mother.”
Diven looked at his uncle. It didn't take a genius to see where he was going.
“Your mother still had a sun-attuned bloodline. As much as it hurt her, she was still accepted in the clan.”
“There are plenty of people without a sun-attuned bloodline in the clan.”
“Rot Heart. Don’t you see the problem? It sounds like a corrupted version of my own Sun Heart. A corrupted version of the bloodline of our founder.”
He could see it. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was in a terrible situation. Why did he have to be the one suffering?
“I’m sure the elders are discussing having you exiled as we speak.” His uncle continued.
“What?”
“You heard me well, Diven. In all likelihood, you’re going to be exiled. Not just from the clan, but from Kheiron itself.”
“How? But that’s impossible, I want to stay in Kheiron. Uncle, I’ve only known Kheiron my whole life, my friends are there, my family…”
“Diven, I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do. This is in the hands of the elders.”
Diven put his head between his hands, hiding his face.
“What are the odds?” He asked.
“Truthfully, this isn’t the first time a situation like this occurs. In the three great clans, the procedure for bloodlines deemed detrimental to the city is to exile them up the Lien River.”
“So I will be exiled to the Wildlands? This is a death sentence!”
Diven looked his uncle in the eyes. His sadness was replaced by a burning anger that threatened to consume him.
“I know, Diven. If the elders agree, I’ll volunteer to take you there and teach you what I can on the way.”
Diven felt a pang go off in his heart.
Right, he couldn’t count on anybody. It was the same thing his mother went through. People would say they were sorry, but then she was cast aside all the same.
He thought about the Wildlands, he didn’t know enough.
Kheiron was located on the coast, near the mouth of the Lien, a large river that flowed south through an endless forest that stretched further north than anyone had traveled to. This was the Wildlands.
Their city was the last bastion of civilization this far to the west. There were humans living in the forest, but only small tribes of barbarians. It might as well be empty.
No, the real danger was the monsters, the beasts, and the wild fauna of these lands were dangerous, varied, and unpredictable. While hunting them provided precious materials Kheiron traded with the eastern Ameian cities, some of them were so powerful a simple gaze would reduce a man to stone or dust.
The Wildlands were tantamount to a death sentence.
“I know this is hard to swallow, but you need to focus, Diven.”
“Yes, uncle,” Diven mumbled.
“Have you looked at your facet options?”
Diven resisted the urge to slap his forehead. One’s bloodline wasn’t the only thing awakened on their awakening day, with it came the ability to pick a facet.
“I see you haven’t,” Uncle Basil continued. “You should do so now.”
Diven closed his eyes and retreated into his newly opened inner world. The rotten sapling was still there, a hazy fog surrounding it. The black vein of rot pulsing at the beat of the Rot Heart nested in its core. The portion of the sea of grass closest to the tree had whittled and turned yellow.
He was disgusted by what he saw, but his instinct knew what to do. Information filled his mind, the list of facets he could select.
Available facets:This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Facet of the Rot Mage
Facet of the Hoplite

Only two choices, average for an attuned bloodline. Facet of the Hoplite was common among the nobles of Kheiron. They had trained since childhood to unlock it and those like Sebastian that received something else were few. The mage facet was expected since his bloodline was attuned.
Under normal circumstances, he would have taken the mage facet, as Zoe had done. But he wasn’t thrilled at the idea. Rot was nasty and disgusting, did he really want to wield its magic? Even if he went past his initial impression, nobody could teach him.
Bringing his mind back to reality, he explained what he found to his uncle.
“I don’t know what rot magic will do for you, but since I have the Sun Heart bloodline, I also received a mage facet for my first choice: Sun Mage,” He explained. “There’s a lot of potential in magic. For me, the Sun Heart is pumping my mana capacity to levels unmatched even by most Ascended Rank elders. But I don’t know how to help you with rot. I would suggest you take Hoplite first, magic takes a long time to learn. A resource you don't have at the moment. You can always pick Facet of the Rot Mage later. Or another one if you manage to unlock more.”
“I don’t even want to take Facet of the Rot Mage,” Diven said.
“Don’t dismiss it, I strongly believe the distinction between good and bad bloodlines is completely made up. With hard work, any bloodline will shine.”
Diven couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Of course, the man with the best bloodline in Kheiron would say that. He could take his Rot Heart if he liked it so much. Keeping his thoughts for himself, Diven returned to his inner world and willed the Facet of the Hoplite into manifesting.
A small branch sprouted on the sapling, it would grow as he progressed in the facet.
However, what truly caught his attention was the patch of bamboo now growing a few paces away from the sapling. They were barely coming out of the ground, a few dozen bamboo shoots at most. Their end was arrow-shaped, like a spear tip.
Skill Acquired: Spear – Basic – Lv1
So this was the spear skill manifesting itself.
Before Diven could inspect it more, he was startled to see a hay of brambles grown around the bamboo. Barely a circle on the floor, it wasn’t looking like much.
Skill Acquired: Shield – Basic – Lv1
As expected, Facet of the Hoplite was well known in Ameian cities. Spear and Shield were the two foundational skills of a good warrior.
A quick inspection revealed no signs of rot on the bamboo and the brambles.
Diven sighed in relief and exited his inner world, reporting his actions to Uncle Basil.
“Good. Facet of the Hoplite is well studied. I, myself, have taken it in my youth so I’ll be able to help with your training.” He stood up. “Come, let’s find some weapons for you.”
It didn’t take long for them to reach the villa’s courtyard where racks and racks of various weapons were stored. While his uncle carefully selected a good spear and shield for him, Diven took in the sun rays hitting his skin with some bitterness. The early spring sun was so comfortable, yet it hadn’t judged him worthy of a bloodline.
“Here,” his uncle handed him a spear that was twice as tall as Diven was and a shield reaching all the way up his torso. “They’re slightly too large but kids your age are not supposed to wield real weapons. You’ll grow into them.”
As soon as the spear and shield were firmly in his hands, Diven felt the effect of his skills activate. An instinctive knowledge of how to use them filled his mind. It was amazing. He was suddenly reminded that this was what he had been waiting for so long. Despite his bloodline issues, the world had still blessed him with a facet and two skills. The feeling was exhilarating.
“Feeling the skills?” His uncle teased. “It never gets old. Wait until you level one of them up. Better yet, wait until you evolve one. That’s the real deal.”
“It’s great,” Diven nodded.
“Good, let’s spar.”
“Now?” Diven asked.
“No time like the present,” Uncle Basil threw himself at Diven, sending him flying across the courtyard. The latter stumbled and fell to the ground. Thankfully, Basil knew what he was doing and Diven wasn’t hurt.
He stood up with a groan and sized up his uncle. It was the first time he had seen him in action and he seemed like a different person. Gone was the mild-mannered man who always acted polite. Instead, he could see the legend behind the Sun Heart bloodline exuding the characteristic pressure of an Evolved Rank skill user.
As Diven had just received his first Basic Rank skills, he couldn't even hope to match him.
It took a moment for Diven to gain his footing in the exercise. The gap between him and his uncle was wide and the man was effortlessly deflecting and avoiding every attack. Not once did he come close to landing a hit, and for every try he was sent flying back.
“Don’t forget, the main danger in the Wildlands is the monsters.” Uncle Basil said. “Think of me as a monster that could crush you in one hit. Be conservative in your approach to our fight.”
Still, the good thing was that he didn’t have to worry about pulling punches. After an hour of effort, he could already appreciate how much he had progressed.
He was covered in sweat when he saw a servant approach his uncle.
“Sir Leios, the elder council requests your presence along with your nephew.”
“Alright. Diven, you follow me.”
Diven’s anxiety which had been washed away by the discovery of his new skills resurfaced.
“Will the entire council be there?” Diven asked as he followed his uncle.
“No, probably not.”
“Even for exiling someone?” Diven asked.
“I know what you mean. But for the elders, this isn’t an important point of discussion. They will all agree to the exile, so there is no point in gathering everyone.”
“All? Even my grandparents?”
“Diven, you should know it by now, my parents had no issue sidelining their own child because of her bloodline. They will be the first to push for your exile.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“You should, because it's exactly what they would do. Their prestige is more important to them than a grandchild they never bothered to meet.”
They walked along the roads of the Acropolis. The council of elders usually convened in the Temple of the Sun, but with the ceremony, they had to move somewhere else. Their backup location was located closer to the top of the hill.
Along the way, Diven noticed people were giving them a wide berth. They were avoiding him.
Did the news spread so fast?
He hadn't expected people to care. He wasn’t sick, there was no reason to keep him at bay.
With his head down, Diven continued to follow his uncle. His heart grew colder with each step. The reality of the situation was seeping in, he didn’t just have a bad bloodline.
No, he had no place in Kheiron anymore.
And where had his parents gone?
They were present at the awakening ceremony, did they not know he was with Uncle Basil?
Or was there another reason that would explain their absence?
He hoped he hadn't caused them any issues. Their standing in the clan was low enough, they didn't need a son like him to bring them down even further.
Lost in thoughts, Diven barely noticed when Uncle Basil stopped and nearly bumped into his back.