Sorien Horizon was born to Minerva and Lloyd—two powerful Kineticists, though only one would ever stay to raise him.   Lloyd, Sorien's father, is a semi-famous Kineticist obsessed with the pursuit of elemental mastery. To him, the path of the Kineticist is not just a practice—it is the highest calling. He does not dismiss the value of other aspects of life, but everything else, including love, family, and comfort, is a distant second to power and understanding. Shortly after Sorien’s birth, Lloyd left in silence, chasing perfection with the same intensity others chase dreams. He did not look back. He would not think of his son again for over a decade.   Minerva, heartbroken but proud, refused to let that be the end of their story. She poured all of her love and pain into training Sorien from the moment he could walk. Their lives were governed by ritual—dawn meditations, midmorning drills, sparring, balance exercises, control tests, visualization, fire shaping, air dancing. Every moment of every day was tethered to the arts of the Kineticist. She never said it outright, but Sorien could feel it: her affection often rose and fell with his progress. Her love, it seemed, might only be fully earned if he proved himself worthy of Lloyd’s attention.   Yet there were moments of warmth. On cold nights, Minerva would tell Sorien the story of how she met Lloyd—two young elemental prodigies clashing at a Kineticist tournament, their fire and wind colliding in a storm of sparks. She spoke of him with awe and grief, always just on the edge of tears. Sorien memorized every word, not just for the story, but for the way it made her eyes soften.   When Sorien was seven, a band of mercenaries attacked their remote home. The reason didn’t matter—only the violence did. He watched Minerva die fighting to protect him. He would have died too if not for the timely arrival of a stranger: a cold, quiet warrior who dispatched the attackers with terrifying ease.   The stranger asked where Sorien’s father was. Sorien told him the truth: he'd never met him. The man scoffed but offered to escort the boy to a nearby town. There, fate twisted once again.   The stranger recognized a traveling band of guards in possession of a rare item he'd long planned to steal. Sensing a chance, he pulled Sorien aside. “You owe me,” he said. “Help me get that item. Call it payment.” They stole it together—and were spotted. Forced to flee, the town became hostile ground for them both. The stranger, begrudging but honorable, took Sorien under his wing. “I can’t leave a kid to die,” he muttered.   What was supposed to be a short journey stretched into four years. They traveled across mountains, through ruins, between kingdoms. The stranger taught Sorien skills beyond the Kineticist arts—how to steal, how to lie, how to fight dirty, how to disappear. He never showed warmth, never said what Sorien meant to him. But the boy began to see through his gruff exterior, and somewhere in the quiet, a real bond formed.   One night, after an uneventful day, the stranger said something that shook Sorien: “I’m proud of you.” It was the first and only time he heard it. The next morning, he was gone. No note. No goodbye. Just silence.   A full year of searching alone across the land for any whisper of his mentors activities or sign of his movements has led to nothing. Disheartened but resilient in his search, the now twelve years old Sorien continues his harrowing journey .   Despite his young age, he is already a formidable Kineticist, his mastery of fire and air far beyond his years. His journey is shaped by grief, abandonment, and longing—but also by resilience, adaptability, and rare emotional depth. Every step he takes is fueled by questions: Why did the stranger leave? Why did Lloyd abandon him? Will anything ever be enough to make someone stay?